Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to commercial transactions and more specifically to systems and methods for processing transactions for on-line banking bill payment using a portable consumer device.
On-line banking bill payment is a convenient way for users to pay bills. A user can use a biller's web site to pay a bill using a portable consumer device. This, however, requires that a user use the biller's web site. When a user has multiple bills to pay, the process of going to each biller's web site may be tedious and time consuming.
Banks have developed on-line banking bill payment web sites to consolidate paying bills. On-line banking bill payment eliminates paper work for all parties involved and also drives users to a bank's web site. Thus, a bank's web site may become more valuable in that marketing on the web site reaches more users in addition to generating revenue from advertisers on the web site.
Typically, an on-line banking bill payment web site allows the user to enter an amount to pay to a biller. The web site then uses an automated clearing house (ACH), wire transfer, or check to generate a payment to the biller. These methods require a user to have a deposit account, such as a checking account, from which money can be used to fund a payment to the biller. Users are thus restricted to these types of payments.
Users, however, may want to pay their bills using a portable consumer device. The portable consumer device process is typically initiated by a merchant (or biller.) For example, a merchant (biller) initiates a payment request for the amount of the bill. The transaction is then routed through the merchants' acquirer/processor, through a payment network (e.g., Visa or MasterCard) to an issuer for approval. The approved transaction is then settled, with the acquirer sending payment to the merchant. On-line banking bill payment is initiated through the on-line bank (or portable consumer device issuer). Thus, on-line banking bill payment being initiated by the biller is not possible.
Banks may allow a user to initiate a bill payment through an on-line banking bill payment site using a portable consumer device. However, currently the bank acts as the issuer and the merchant together in order to allow the transaction. For example, the bank can use a cash advance or balance transfer transaction to credit the user's portable consumer device account for the bill payment amount. Then, the bank uses an ACH transaction to settle the payment to the biller. The bank in this case avoids using an acquirer and requires multiple separate transactions to satisfy the user's on-line banking bill payment request (e.g., a cash advance transaction and a separate ACH transaction). This transaction is not processed like a portable consumer device transaction and complicates the bill payment process.